NT town camps in spotlight after child death and riots

By ZAC de SILVA

An honest conversation is needed about the conditions in remote camps in the Northern Territory after the killing of a five-year-old girl in Alice Springs, the Federal opposition says.

But the Indigenous Australians minister says now is not the time for such a discussion, arguing the community should be allowed to grieve the death of the girl – whose family have asked her to be referred to as Kumanjayi Little Baby – without the tragedy being politicised.

In an opinion piece published by The Australian on Friday, coalition frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said violence in town camps could no longer be ignored.

NT senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price wants an independent inquiry into the governance of town camps. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)

“Too often, difficult conversations are avoided. There is a reluctance to speak plainly about what is happening in some communities. Silence does not protect anyone,” she wrote.

Town camps were established in the 1970s as a place where Indigenous people visiting from remote areas could stay for short periods, but have now become permanent homes for many.

Senator Price called for an independent inquiry into the governance of town camps, the organisations involved in their upkeep and whether current laws were protecting vulnerable Australians.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says the federal government is in denial about town camps. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor echoed the comments, saying the killing and subsequent reprisals were a tragedy and accusing the government of being in denial.

“You don’t solve violence with more violence,” he told Sky News on Friday.

“(The government needs to) get out of denial about the situation we’re seeing around Alice Springs and elsewhere.

“It’s the denial that has led us to this place where people aren’t prepared to have honest conversations about the state of affairs in our town camps,” Mr Taylor said.

People need time to grieve before the death becomes a political issue, Malarndirri McCarthy says. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)

Responding to the opposition’s push, an emotional Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said the community needed time to heal.

“Now’s not that time at all,” she told ABC Radio National when asked about Senator Price’s suggestion.

“Now’s the time to come together as a community in sorry business and be with this mum and her son as they prepare to bury their daughter,” Senator McCarthy said.

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